1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates generally to inkjet printing systems and methods and more particularly to a system and method for disposing inkjet cartridges in a carrier used in such systems.
2. Description of the Background of the Invention
High-speed printing systems typically include one or more imaging units. Each imaging unit has one or more inkjet cartridges (or printheads). A controller controls each inkjet cartridge to eject a fluid (such as ink or other composition) onto a receiving surface. Some printing systems use an imaging unit with a moving inkjet cartridge (or an array of inkjet cartridges) that traverses the width of the receiving surface as nozzles of the inkjet cartridge drop one or more lines of fluid to form a swath of an image along the width of the receiving surface. Upon completion of the swath, the receiving surface is advanced in accordance with the width of the swath and the inkjet cartridge again traverses the width of the receiving surface to print a next swath of the image.
Other printing systems use an image unit with a fixed inkjet cartridge (or an array of inkjet cartridges) in which the receiving surface is moved under the inkjet cartridge and nozzles of the inkjet cartridge eject drops of fluid onto the receiving surface in accordance with the position of the receiving surface to print an image. Inkjet cartridges are interfaced with a controller that controls the formation and ejection of drops from the inkjet cartridge when such drops are needed. In addition, inkjet cartridges may be connected using fluid conduits to ink supplies that provide ink and/or other fluids to the inkjet cartridge to replenish any ink ejected and/or otherwise removed (e.g., by evaporation) therefrom.
In a printing system, an inkjet cartridge is secured to a carrier and disposed such that the nozzles of the inkjet cartridge are directed toward the receiving surface. The carrier may be manufactured from steel or other alloys that can be milled to a high precision. More than one inkjet cartridge may be secured to a carrier in this fashion in a one or two-dimensional array. Some inkjet cartridges may need to be mounted so that, when a drop is ejected, the angle between the plane of the face of the inkjet cartridge directed toward the receiving surface and the plane of the portion of the receiving surface on which such drop is deposited is within a predetermined range. In addition, the distance between the face of the inkjet cartridge and the receiving surface may also need to be within a predetermined range.
Further, inkjet cartridges may need to be disposed on a carrier such that a sufficient amount of the carrier material remains between cartridges so that the structural integrity of the carrier is not compromised. Further, the inkjet cartridges may need to be disposed on a carrier so that there is sufficient space available to secure one or more data cables, fluid conduits, and/or circuitry to the inkjet cartridge disposed.